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Derhish
The Derhish language (Derhish: Gealêge) is a Celtic language spoken by about 300,000 people worldwide, most living in the Republic of Derhaland. The ISO 639-3 code by the language is DRC. It is closely related to the Irish language, and shares all of its sounds, although the pronunciation is simpler. It was originally formed in 2000 BCE as a fusion of various Celtic languages, although unlike them it contains a /z/ letter. Within a few centuries, communication with Ireland nearly merged the two languages naturally into a lingua franca. However, the geographical barriers kept the languages separate. Although the number of speakers was formerly declining, they are now slowly increasing with the total population of Derhaland since 1991. This is due in part to te fact that it can be understood by Irish speakers. Phonology Vowels a e i o u IPA: a e i o u á é í ó ú IPA: a: e: i: o: u: ê (silent) e (silent at the end of a word of more than one syllable) letters - IPA ia - iǝ ua - uǝ eu - eǝ ae - eɪ ao - iu éo - jo iu - iu ái - awi éi - ei ói - oi úi - ui eá - a: ío - i: ai - ai ea - ai ei - e oi - ʊi io - ɪ ui - ɪ eo - ʊ aí - i: aoi - i: eoi - ǝi eái - aɪ iai - iæi uai - uɪ iui - iuɪ Basic Grammar The grammar has the same "basic idea" as Irish. However, there are several changes that resulted from the fact that the complex Irish grammar could not be preserved over such a large area. The result was an almost completely standardized language albeit occasionally revealing an irregular verb or noun. The most remarkable change in syntax was the movement of the preposition to after the noun. This happened fairly recently, linguists say, as the prepositions are conjugated similarly to in Irish. Declensions There are four cases in Derhish, and two numbers. The cases are the nominative (used for the subject and object), the vocative (for calling a person's or object's name i.e. Hello, Fred.), the genetive (possesive), and the dative (used for objects of a preposition). In addition, there are three declensions. One declension describes nouns ending in a non-lenited noun, another describes lenited noun, and a third is for nouns that end in vowels. When h is added after the first letter of the verb, it is lenited, so therefore verbs beginning in non-lenitable verbs do not become lenited. Derhaene = Derhish name for Derhaland méoch = son derhad = crop Conjugations There are two types of conjugations, conjugations of prepositions and conjugations of verbs. Almost all verbs conjugate by this simple pattern: If a subject is given, not signified by the conjugation, nothing is added at the end. bé = to be In the case where the verb does not end in vowel, ê can be added before the suffix, although it is not used for the béidh and béizh conjugations. Prepositions Conjugations of prepositions are highly complex and irregular. In addition to the six main persons, there is a "something" person, i.e. on top of something. "Óiz," which literally means "of something" is a common word for "someone," "one," or "everyone." When a preposition is attached to a noun, it may take the form of a contraction. For example, it is possible to write méoch lean, "with the son," as lméoch. In these cases, the m is eliminated and the word is pronounced as "léoch." Several other prepositions have this quality. Also, some prepositions cause their nouns' first letters to become the eclipsis form. Here is an example of a conjugated preposition: lean = with lóiz = with one l- = with (whatever) Tenses Tenses are, like some prepositions, contractions of a letter and the verb. For example, "will harvest (derhag is "to harvest")" is ngderhag, pronounced /ngerhag/. Other tenses like the present continuous, use prepositions after the word for the tense. "Is harvesting" is "derhag a." The past tense uses lentition, so "harvested" is "dherhag." Other major tenses are the habitual "chderhag," and experential "lderhag." There are further tenses as well. There is no passive voice, so to say "the crops were harvested," you would say "someone harvested the crops." To say "Harvest the crops," you would say "you harvest the crops." There is no infinitive, so the verb can also be treated like a noun without changing it. Articles There are no articles in Derhish. To say "the cat" you simply use the word "cat." Similarly, this can be applied to "a cat" as long as the context is clear. Otherwise, "oíz cait" (something cat) is used. Dictionary ... Example text gBear a óiz díonei gdíonei bé zéi uile zéi combeann ghínea séor deainh séor. Born at everyone people of people be they free they have dignity same rights same. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. See also Category:Languages Category:Celtic conlangs